The Crucible
Unit Test Review
The Story
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Characters’ Motives
o Why a character does what he does. The motivations behind his thoughts and
actions
o Characters to consider:
1. Reverend Parris
2. Tituba
3. John Proctor
4. Abigail Williams
5. Elizabeth Proctor
6. Mr. and Mrs. Putnam
7. Mary Warren
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Allusions
o A brief reference within a work to something outside the work
o The Crucible uses Biblical allusions in the forms of figurative language (similes,
metaphors, etc)
1. Look at your vocabulary lists to find the allusions
2. For each allusion, you should be able to:
 Explain their meaning (what/who is being compared?)
 Explain their value to the story (Why did the author use them?)
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Irony
o Involves a contrast between what is stated and what is meant, or between what is
expected to happen and what actually happens
1. Dramatic:
 Irony that is inherent in speeches or situations of a drama and is
understood by the audience but not gasped by the characters in the
play.
2. Verbal:
 Irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means
another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of
the literal meaning.
o On the test, you will be given examples of irony from the story.
o You will need to identify what kind of irony is being used (dramatic or verbal).
o You will need to explain why the example you are given is ironic. (use the
definition)
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Logical Fallacy
o A statement that appears to be logical, but is based on a faulty premise
o On the test, you will be given examples of logical fallacy from the story
o You will need to explain why the example is a logical fallacy
The Crucible
Unit Test Review

Themes
o A central idea or insight into life that a writer tries to convey in a work of
literature
1. Fear and suspicions are infectious and can turn into mass hysteria
2. The destructive power of guilt and revenge
3. The failure of a judicial system fueled by ideology instead of justice
o On the test, you will need to be able to provide multiple examples from the story
of each theme.
Vocabulary
Act I
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Predilection – pre-existing preference
Shovelboard – game in which a coin or other disk is driven with the hand along a highly
polished board, floor, or table marked with transverse lines
New Jerusalem – in the Bible, the holy city of heaven
Ingratiating – charming or flattering
Junta – assembly or council
Lucifer – the Devil
Dissembling – disguising one’s real nature or motives
Goody – title used for a married women; short for Goodwife
Abyss – deep crack in the Earth
Calumny –false accusation, slander
Quakers – members of the Society of Friends, a Christian religious sect that was founded
in the mid-17th century and has no formal creed, rites, or priesthood. Unlike the Quakers,
the Puritans had a rigid code of conduct and were expected to heed the words of their
ministers.
Martin Luther – German theologian who led the Protestant Reformation
Lutheran – member of the Protestant denomination founded by Martin Luther
Erasmus Desiderius – (1466-1536) Dutch humanist, scholar, and theologian
Succubi – female demons thought to lie on sleeping men
Abrogation - abolishment
Congerie – heap; pile
Inculcation – teaching by repetition and urging
Propitiation – action designed to soothe or satisfy a person, a cause, etc.
Klatches – informal gatherings
Fetishes – objects believed to have magical powers
Dionysiac – characteristic of Dionysus, Greek god of wine and revelry; thus, wild,
frenzied, sensuous
Victorian – characteristic of the time when Victoria was queen of England (1837-1901),
an era associated with respectability, prudery, and hypocrisy
Incubi – spirits or demons thought to lie on sleeping women
Licentious – lacking moral restraint
The Crucible
Unit Test Review
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In nomine Domini Sabaoth sui filique ite ad infernos – “In the name of the lord of
hosts and his son, get thee to the lower world” (Latin)
Act II
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Pallor – paleness
Poppet – doll
Ameliorate – make better
Avidly – eagerly
Base – low; mean
Deference – courteous regard or respect
Theology – the study of religion
Quail – cringe from
As lief – rather
Gingerly – cautiously
Pontius Pilate – Roman leader who condemned Jesus to be crucified
Abomination – something that causes great horror or disgust
Blasphemy – sinful act or remark
Lechery – lust; adultery – a charge almost as serious as witchcraft in this Puritan
community
Act III
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Contentious – argumentative
Affidavit – a written statement made under oath
Deposition – the testimony of a witness made under oath but not in open court
Imperceptible – barely noticeable
Cain…Abel – In the Bible, Cain, the oldest son of Adam and Eve, killed his brother, Abel.
Deferentially – in a manner that bows to another’s wishes; very respectfully
Raphael…Tobias – In the Bible, Tobias is guided by the archangel Raphael to save two people
who have prayed for their deaths. One of the two is Tobias’s father, Tobit, who has prayed for his
death because he has lost his sight; the other is Sara, a woman who is afflicted with a demon and
has killed her seven husbands on their wedding day. With Raphael’s assistance, Tobias exorcises
the devil from Sara and cures his father of blindness.
Anonymity – the condition of being unknown
Prodigious – of great size, power, or extent
Effrontery – shameless boldness
Confounded – confused; dismayed
Ipso Facto – Latin: “By that very fact”; “therefore”
Probity – complete honesty; integrity
Augur bit – sharp point of an auger, a tool used for boring holes
Incredulously – skeptically
Blanched – paled; whitened
Gulling – fooling
Anti-Christ – in the Bible, the great antagonist of Christ expected to spread universal evil
The Crucible
Unit Test Review
Act IV
1. Andover – During the height of the terror in Salem Village, a similar hysteria broke out in the nearby
town of Andover. There, many respected people were accused of practicing witchcraft and confessed
to escape death. However, in Andover people soon began questioning the reality of the situation and
the hysteria quickly subsided.
2. Agape – wide open
3. Gibbet – gallows
4. Conciliatory – tending to soothe anger
5. Beguile – trick
6. Floundering – awkward struggling
7. Retaliation – act of returning an injury or wrong
8. Adamant – firm; unyielding
9. Joshua…Rising – In the Bible, Joshua, leader of the Jews after the death of Moses, asks God to
make the sun and the moon stand still during a battle, and his request is granted.
10. Cleave – adhere; cling
11. Sibilance – hissing sound
12. Tantalized – tormented; frustrated
13. Purged – cleansed